Imagine not being able to feed your children. You tuck them in bed with an empty stomach. You try your best to prepare food, but you don’t know where your next meal is coming from. One in seven children in the United States suffers from food insecurity, which, by definition, is limited or uncertain access to enough food. This negatively impacts children’s health, development, and well-being.
“There are 35 million people in the United States who are hungry or don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and 13 million of them are children. If other countries were doing this to our children, we would be at war,” Jeff Bridges said.
This battle is being fought by many: federal, state and local governments, agencies like Feeding America, the National School Lunch Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children, health professionals, and schools are all involved in alleviating this social need.
The American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement, “Promoting Food Security for All Children,” recommends that pediatricians screen and identify risks, connect families to needed community resources, and advocate for policies that provide adequate, healthy food for children and their families.
Food insecurity is a result of income, employment, race/ethnicity, disability, and geography. The problems and solutions are complex, but feeding children seems simple. Economic stability is clearly the most effective way to end food insecurity. In addition to food supply, resources that provide economic opportunity are provided by many institutions. Solving poverty, unemployment, and low wages will solve hunger. This has been a political and social struggle since the beginning of civilization. If we have a planet that can sustain a population, why haven’t we solved it yet?
Apollo 11 astronaut, engineer, and fighter pilot Buzz Aldrin said, “If we can conquer space, we can conquer child hunger.”
Research shows that people living with food insecurity report worries that their food will run out before they have money, that their food will not last long, that they will not be able to eat a balanced diet, that they will cut back or skip meals because they have no money, that they will eat less because they have no money, that they will feel hungry, that they will lose weight, or that they will go whole days without food. Many years ago, I read Frank McCourt’s memoir of living in poverty in Ireland, “Angela’s Ashes.” He writes about his family sharing one egg for breakfast and a boiled lamb’s head for Christmas dinner. How naive I was to think that those days were long gone.
In our community, the Westfield Boys & Girls Club is offering free lunches to children and teens ages 2.9-18, Monday through Friday through August 23rd, at the following locations: Hubbard Street Spray Park, Sadie Knox Spray Park, Westfield Children’s Library, Cross Street Playground, Chapman Playground, Boys & Girls Club, Powdermill Village, Colonial Pine Acres, and Edgewood Apartments. They are also available at the Westfield Farmers Market, but only on Thursdays.
The menu seems kid-friendly and nutritious, with a different meal offered each day including cheeseburger, fries, fruit, Ranch BLT wrap, cheese pizza, broccoli, fruit, ham and cheese croissant, potato salad and fruit.
There is no entry requirement. To add fun to the menu, there will be daily and weekly giveaways, a prize wheel with books, souvenirs and gift cards to win. Summer will close out with an all-venue End of Summer Party at the Boys & Girls Club on August 23rd from 11:30am-1pm. The grand prize winner of a gift card will be announced at the party.
This program is made possible through a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Project Bread. For more information, visit www.bgcwestfield.org.
The Westfield Parks and Recreation Department also offers fun activities at some of our meal locations. Summer Playground Programs run July 1-August 2, Monday-Friday, 8:30am-1:30pm for children ages 6-12. Each playground (Paper Mill, Munger Hill, Municipal, Chapman, Sadie Knox) has two or three CPR/First Aid certified supervisors. Activities include games, crafts, sports, tournaments and more. Nutritious meals and fun activities will be provided for the children of our community. Please help spread the word.
“Hunger is not a matter of charity. It is a matter of justice.” (Jacques Diouf, former Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Senegalese diplomat)
Take care of yourself and others.
Juanita Karns is a nurse who lives in Westfield and has worked in the hospital emergency department and urgent care facility for 38 years. She served on the Westfield Board of Health for 30 years.
